When Fur Meets Fur
by TheHttydRaven
Summary: A worgen struggles with being the lone one in a squadron of humans with less than positive feelings about her. The same worgen is sent with her squadron to make first contact with a Pandarian village. Pandarians who would rather have a conversation with another furred being then the furless humans that were swarming their lands. Two shot.


Okay so let's just say that in this, there's going to be some slight racism towards worgens from humans. I mean, would you just blindly trust a person who turns into a hulking beast when they get angry? But I love worgen so this little two shot will eventually be positive!

The Worgen's name is pronounced Er-Seer-ee-ah (Ercyria).

This isn't self insert I just decided to use one of my characters' names because why not :)

Shortfur Village is a made up place.

Warning: I took like a four year break from WoW and only just got back into it, so please forgive any mistakes. Point them out and I'll fix them to the best of my abilities!

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Ercyria took in a deep breath as she pulled the straps of the parachute, wincing as the rough material caught on her fur, pulling at it and tearing a few tufts free, influencing her lips to twitch into a pained grimace.

A soldier kneeling next to her, who was also putting on his parachute, caught sight of her grimace and chuckled. "What's wrong Wolfie?" Ercyria bristled angrily at the nickname. "Scared that the locals here won't be as blind as our king? That they'll see you for the beast you ar-"

"Soldier!" Ercyria glanced up to see their squadron's leader narrowing her eyes at Lue Hunter, the soldier who was bothering Ercyria. "Do not let me hear you talking about our king in that way again if you wish to stay in this squadron."

"Yes Admiral! Sorry Admiral!" Hunter snapped into a salute, before quickly fastening his parachute and walking off, but not before sending a final glare in Ercyria's direction.

When Ercyria had signed up to join this squadron as a healer, she didn't expect it to be this bad. Sure, in Stormwind she occasionally got the judgemental look, or parents sometimes drew their children close when she passed them in the streets, but for the most part worgens and humans lived in harmony.

That was not as true in the ranks of the squadron. Being the only worgen in the squadron, Ercyria was often excluded from conversations and left to her lonesome as the other humans preferred the company of their own rather than some... cursed beast like her.

"Ercyria." The worgen glanced up to see Amber Storm, their Admiral, standing beside her. "Are you ready? I can't have our only healer being distracted while we make first contact."

"Yes Ma'am." Ercyria saluted the Admiral. "I am prepared and ready to go."

"Great. We jump in five." Adniral Storm moved to leave, but hesitated before settling a gloved hand on Ercyria's furred shoulder. "And as much as I would enjoy seeing Hunter get what's coming for him, please don't let our soldiers fall. The king is counting on us to gain these allies."

"I won't." Ercyria nodded, a steely look in her eyes. She may have problems with the members of her squadron, but she would never allow personal issues to interfere with her mission.

"Get to your station, you'll be jumping soon." Admiral Storm gave a final nod to the worgen, before moving on to check on the other members of the small squadron.

Ercyria grabbed the railing of the skyship, pulling herself to her feet and taking her place beside it, the area she would jump from when Storm cleared them to jump from the ship to the land of Pandaria.

Ercyria stood tall, relishing the feeling of the swift wind flowing through her fur, bringing the scent of the ocean water that lay far below them with it.

"Squadron! Listen up!" Ercyria and the other soldiers lining the railings of the ship turned to look at Admiral Storm, who was standing tall as she surveyed her gathered followers. "We will be making contact with a Pandarian village. This village has not been contacted by the troops we already have placed across this land, so it is our job to represent the Alliance! We must get these natives to join our side rather then the Horde if we wish to win this war!" Admiral Storm raised her fist to the sky as she let out a cry which rang out across the deck. "For the Alliance!"

"For the Alliance!" Ercyria, along with the rest of her comrades, echoed the cry before jumping over the railing and off the ship, free falling through the air before the parachutes strapped to their backs opened up, abruptly slowing their fall and allowing them to slowly float towards the beach that lay below them.

Looking around, Ercyria spotted the specially marked parachute belonging to Admiral Storm, and directed herself to follow the Admiral as the squadron drew closer to the beach.

As the sand of the beach rushed up to meet her, Ercyria brought her knees and feet together, allowing her body to buckle as she hit the sand, rolling to land in a crouch, before standing up and quickly rubbing her hands through her short fur, shaking out any sand that managed to get into it.

"We have multiple miles to walk before we reach the village. We better get started if we wish to reach the village with time to begin negotiations before night falls." Admiral Storm addressed her comrades, before turning and beginning to walk up the beach towards the dense forest that lay along the edge of the sand, extending for as far as Ercyria could see.

As Ercyria moved to follow Admiral Storm, she let out a quiet gasp as someone abruptly shouldered past her, moving to walk in front of her, quietly calling over their shoulder so the Admiral wouldn't hear their comment.

"Hey wolf. Walk in the back where you belong." The man chuckled, and as Hunter walked past to join his friend, he also knocked into Ercyria as he passed. As her eyes narrowed at the men, Ercyria lifted a lip to display a sharp tooth as the man smirked and strutted ahead, before taking a deep breath to control herself, continuing to walk behind the group of soldiers ahead of her.

"Ercyria!"

Ercyria looked up to see Admiral Storm beckoning her with one hand, the other hand clutching the map she was currently examining.

Ercyria quickly moved past the men that had shoved past her, walking to stand next to the Admiral and beginning to raise her hand into a salute.

"Oh, no need for that." Admiral Storm rolled her eyes as she motioned at Ercyria to lower her arm. "I really have no care for that procedure. But let us get into business."

"Yes Admiral. What do you want me to do?" Ercyria inquired, tilting her head as the Admiral turned to look at her, the pair continuing to walk as they conversed, the rest of the squadron following a few yards behind.

"You were an adventurer after Gilneas was lost, were you not?"

Ercyria felt a pang of sadness strike her heart at the mention of her old home, but nodded. "Yes. I explored most of Azeroth in those years."

"So you should be good at navigation." The Admiral waited for Ercyria to nod before continuing, holding the map out for her to see. "Look at this. Which way do you think should we go?"

"You are an Admiral. You are skilled in navigation as well." Ercyria huffed, crossing her arms as she glared at the Admiral. "If this is about making me feel included or whatever, you can drop it. I don't really mind what the other squadron members say about me."

"Ercyria. I honestly just want your opinion." Admiral offered the map to Ercyria as she softly chuckled. "Just because I'm an Admiral doesn't mean I'm the best at everything. I can navigate and find my way through the landscapes we find ourselves in, sure, but I am far from skilled at it. I feel like you'd be able to get us there much quicker then I would've been."

Ercyria slowly nodded, before taking the map in her furred hands, taking care to prevent her sharpened claws from tearing through the valuable map. After examining the map for a few moments, Ercyria located the village they were supposed to make contact with.

Tracing a claw lightly across the paper from the beach to the symbol of a few huts labelled 'Shortfur Village', Ercyria could easily tell based on the map alone which route they should take.

"Basing this off my knowledge of Azeroth's lands, as we know little to nothing of Pandarias creatures, I would suggest we enter the forest by that rock formation," Ercyria pointed the rock formation ahead of them before showing Admiral Storm where the formation was on the map, before continuing. "And then we should follow the cliff face, sticking close to it so we face less of a risk of being attacked on both sides. Where the cliff face tapers off, that'll be our cue to turn right. We should be right alongside that creek, Silver Water Creek, which seems like it leads right past Shortfur village. I'd guess that we'd be able to make it in an hour, if we limit our breaks." Ercyria handed the map back before reaching up and awkwardly running a hand through her long mane. "If you don't agree with that route however tha-"

"This is genius! I was going to suggest cutting straight through but your point about how this forest contains unknown creatures is very good." Admiral Storm looked up and smiled, before pointing her sword forward, letting out a call to the gathered men and women behind the two. "Everyone! Get into formation. We have an estimated hour walk ahead of us."

Ercyria moved to take her usual place at the back of the formation, but Admiral Storm held out a hand and pointed to the ground beside her.

"I'd think it would be best if the healer stuck by the Admiral, no?"

Ercyria hesitated, before nodding quickly and standing tall next to Admiral Storm, ignoring the quiet whispers that rose from the soldiers behind them.

As the group began to march, Ercyria let her shoulders drop as she relaxed and took in the beauty of the land, which seemed to hold a presence of serenity, a certain... aura she hadn't felt before coming to this new land.

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Ercyria slowed to a stop as Admiral Storm held out an arm in front of her.

"The village is just ahead. I think it best that, at least at first, you show yourself as a human. We don't know these people's thoughts on worgens."

Ercyria nodded, before closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, taking in the sweet scent of the flowers that lined the creek the squadron stood beside, relaxing herself as she focused on switching forms. Ercyria could feel the fur and claws growing shorter, her form and posture changing as her worgen side regressed.

As Ercyria opened her eyes, she found she had to look up to speak to Admiral Storm. As she didn't leave her worgen form often, this was the first time she had shown the squadron what she had originally looked like.

The admiral let out an approving nod, before continuing. The squadron walked along the creek for a few more minutes before reaching a path. The path connected to a bridge which led over the creek and up a slight hill. At the top of the hill was a wall, the tops of buildings peeking over it, the path leading up to an opening in the wall which was guarded by two grim-looking Pandaren who had their gazes trained on the humans before them.

As they crossed the bridge, Admiral Storm held up her hand, motioning for the squadron to stop while she continued, motioning for Ercyria to accompany her as she approached the two Pandaren guarding the village, who moved to cross their spears across each other, blocking their passage into the village.

"Greetings Pandaren of Shortfur village. I am Admiral Storm, and this is Ercyria. We are representatives of the Alliance and we are here seeking to discuss relations with your leaders." Admiral Storm bowed to the two, Ercyria following in her lead a moment after.

The Pandaren gazed at Admiral Storm for a moment, before moving aside and drawing their spears back to their sides, allowing the two to move forward but crossing their spears together once again when the squadron made a move to follow.

When they were satisfied that the squadron would stay put, one Pandaren moved to walk ahead of them while the other trailed behind them.

As the group made their way through the small village, it seemed the presence of humans ground all activities to a halt. Small Pandaren children froze and stared at the two, bright eyes widened with curiosity as the two furless people passed them.

As the pair approached a small temple, a wizened and old Pandaren exited it, approaching the group.

The Pandaren tucked his paws behind his back neatly as he surveyed the two humans, gaze lingering on Ercyria for an unsettling moment before turning back to Admiral Storm, inclining his head to her slightly.

"I am Hanyu Ling, mayor of Shortfur village. How may I assist you and your... Alliance?"

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To be continued :)


End file.
